SOFTBALL: Boone's Ballmer catches on with Franklin Pierce

Daniel Boone senior Mikaela Ballmer, right, signed her national letter of intent to play softball at Franklin Pierce University Wednesday. Ballmer is pictured with her parents, from left, Randy and Pam Ballmer, and Blazers coach Traci Huddleson, standing. (Photo by John Strickler/The Mercury)

BIRDSBORO — Though she played third base last season for the Daniel Boone softball team, Mikaela Ballmer is most comfortable putting on the catching gear.

That’s what she’ll be doing in the future as a member of the Franklin Pierce University squad.

Ballmer signed a letter-of-intent Wednesday to accept a scholarship to attend Franklin Pierce, located in Rindge, N.H., and play softball for the Division II Ravens.

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“I really liked the team when I made my official visit,” Ballmer said. “It reminded me of the Boone team here. One team. One family. And we had so much fun.”

Franklin Pierce went 7-23 in the Northeast 10 Conference and 9-30 last year under rookie coach Christine Grenache.

Grenache and her staff took notice of Ballmer through a skills video she sent out, and saw her play for her Delco Diamonds travel team out of West Chester.

Ballmer took her first visit to Franklin Pierce in August before the students returned, then stayed for an official visit last month that wound up selling her on the school.

“I liked it because (the campus) was small and out in the woods,” said Ballmer, whose other top choices were Kutztown and Houghton (N.Y.). “The coach is young, and she’s rebooting the program. It seems like it’s really going to work out. I like how she ran practice. I think it’s a good fit.”

Ballmer hit fifth in the lineup and showed a strong arm at third base in helping the Blazers bring home their first Berks Conference championship since 2005 last season.

She went 3-for-4 with a triple and two runs in a key league victory over division rival Twin Valley, and she had a sacrifice fly in a 3-0 title-game victory over Brandywine Heights.

Ballmer, who caught for her travel team, is looking forward to getting back behind the plate.

“They recruited me as a catcher,” she said. “That’s probably my best position. I’ve played it since I was eight.”

A member of the Daniel Boone Youth Education Association and school’s Interact Club, Ballmer plans to major in graphic communications.

Her parents, Randy and Pam, can now make plenty of plans to travel the Northeast, since Ballmer’s other brother, Aaron, is currently a sophomore pitcher at St. Bonaventure University in New York.

“I just want to keep working very hard to get to the level where I can start,” said Ballmer, who credited work with batting coach Jon Walton at Diamond Dreams Academy in Collegeville as integral in her development. “They (the Ravens staff) told me I would have as good an opportunity as anyone has. If you’re a freshman and doing better than a senior, you’re going to play. That’s what I’m trying to work for.”